


The Air in My Lungs

by lal nila syrin (lalnilasyrin)



Series: Blind Sighted [5]
Category: D N Angel, D.N. Angel, D.N.Angel, DN Angel, DNAngel, d. n. angel
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blind Character, Blindness, F/M, Friendship, Friendship/Love, blind!daisuke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-06
Updated: 2015-03-06
Packaged: 2018-03-16 20:03:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3501107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalnilasyrin/pseuds/lal%20nila%20syrin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Riku never realized exactly how different Daisuke's world was, and how he interacted with it--and when she hears his voice, she wants nothing more than to listen to it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Air in My Lungs

**Author's Note:**

> I felt the need to play with DaiRiku since I really don’t do that as often as I think I should.
> 
> I was listening to Kaze Ni Naritai while writing this. (Also my attempt at transliterating the first part~ It’s not an exact translation for lyrical reasons of course!)
> 
> Part of the Blind Sighted series. Another short story.

” _The sun sets slowly, a dying gold just beyond, by mountains; and anywhere I go the green found along the road, continues onward almost endlessly._ " A quiet voice drifted through the air, as peaceful as the words that it formed, " _This heart speeds up its beat, as I ride ahead on this white bicycle through it all; regardless of using the brakes, the first season rushes past me._ ”

Riku paused in her trek from the lacrosse field, closing her eyes to listen to that sweet voice—for a moment, she didn’t recognize it, but it made her heart warm.

” _Somewhere I hear, the mournful song of rolling waves; in the distance, next to a sea of hope…!_ ”

The brunette wandered closer to the source, opening her eyes and catching a flash of beautiful, bright red hair. A blush crossed her cheeks as she realized who was singing and why his voice was familiar—it was  _Daisuke_.

” _I want to become the wind, I want to become the wind…_ ”

A soft gasp interrupted the song, because suddenly Daisuke had heard footsteps behind him. He tapped his walking stick on the ground, standing from where he had been sitting on the bench and turning to face her.

"Ah," Riku spoke, if only to let him know it was her—he could always tell, somehow, even if it was just a small sound like that. "Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt you."

The surprised tension left Daisuke’s shoulders, and he blushed in embarrassment with a shy grin. “Harada-san… ah, h-how long were you there…?”

"Not long," Riku smiled at him—he would hear it in her voice, he would know she was sort of lying about how long she was actually there, but that was okay—seeing his cute fluster made her blush deepen, and he didn’t seem to mind that much. "I didn’t know you could sing… you have a very nice voice, Niwa-kun."

"It’s nothing," the redhead grinned sheepishly, fiddling with the strap on his walking stick. When his white eyes shifted to face her more directly, he changed the subject, "Did you just get out of practice?"

"Yeah, I was about to go home…" She stepped closer to him, stopping next to him so they weren’t at such an odd speaking distance, and then paused in realization. "Ah, but you’re here unusually late, Niwa-kun. What were you doing out here?"

"Oh, uh… I was spending some time at the art club with Hiwatari-kun," Daisuke admitted with a hint of pride, "He said he was going to clean up, and I thought I should wait for him, since I feel bad I couldn’t help…"

"The art club?" Riku blinked. "With Hiwatari-kun—from our class?"

"Yeah."

"I… I didn’t know you were friends with him." Riku said slowly, thinking about when she saw him in class. Now that she thought about it, the blind boy did seem to talk to his desk neighbor more often lately… "He’s in the art club?"

"Yeah! He’s teaching me how to sculpt," Daisuke grinned excitedly, "He says I’m getting really good at it, and it’s fun!"

"Wow, I didn’t know you were getting into that sort of thing," Riku said in awe, "Can I see sometime?"

"Sure!" Daisuke nodded, "I’m not very good yet, but Hiwatari-kun is really good, so I’ve got a good teacher!"

Riku laughed softly, shaking her head. “I really didn’t think that boy could be friends was anyone… but if it’s you, then it doesn’t seem so impossible.” She commented softly.

Daisuke tilted his head in confusion. “I know he’s quiet, but is he really that unapproachable?”

"No, just… I don’t know. There’s something about him." Riku said thoughtfully. "But then again, there’s something about you too." She stopped abruptly, "Ah, not in a bad way of course!"

Daisuke merely grinned and shook his head. “I didn’t take any offense. I know what you meant.” He motioned, “Hey, wanna wait with me?”

Riku blinked at the invitation, but watched as he sat down on the bench again, holding out his hand to catch the sunlight just beyond the line of the tree’s shadow.

"Ah… sure." Riku answered when she realized she hadn’t responded yet, moving to sit next to him. "What are you doing?"

"It’s a really nice warm day out, isn’t it?" Daisuke mused, "It feels… gold."

"Gold?" Riku blinked. What an odd description…

"Yeah… Hiwatari-kun and D—um, someone else I know… they’ve been trying to describe colors to me, and… this feels like what they described as gold," he motioned with his other hand to his palm, covered in sunlight, and then moved his fingers to the shadows on his wrist. "And this… I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s not quite ‘blue’… It’s the shadow on the back of this tree above us, isn’t it? Something like that… maybe it’s brown."

Riku stared at him, nonplussed, as the realization began to sink in that Daisuke didn’t know what colors were, and would never know. It had never occurred to her that whenever people described things in color, he had no idea what they were talking about—so suddenly the description of the sunlight feeling gold didn’t seem so odd anymore.

"Yeah, it’s… pretty close. I mean, the gold part at least, I’m not sure about brown." The brunette teenager smiled sympathetically, trying to understand what he was feeling by holding out her own hand, closing her eyes, and imagining the feeling of the shadow on her wrist. "The sunlight is gold, especially at this time of day… so you’re not wrong."

"Is it?" Daisuke turned his head toward her, "Does the sunlight come in different colors?"

"Yeah. In just an hour from now, it’ll be red." Riku explained as she stared at her hand, "That’s sunset. And after sunset, the sky will be black."

"I know." Daisuke said almost enigmatically, and the two of them fell silent. Daisuke let his hand fall to his lap, and he fiddled with his walking stick idly.

After a long moment, he freed his hand from the wristband of his walking stick, turning toward her slightly. “Can I see something?”

Riku blinked, but she nodded with a “yes?” before tilting her head. She watched Daisuke’s hands reach up, as she had expected because he had asked to “see” something, and didn’t flinch when his fingers gently brushed her hair aside and ghosted over the skin of her cheeks.

Riku tried hard not to blush, knowing he could feel it. He explored her face the way he had done many times in the past, and she wondered what he was looking for this time.

"What did you want to see?" She asked softly.

"I was thinking that… sometime, I want to sculpt you." Daisuke replied back just as gingerly, his thumb brushing over the bridge of her nose. "It’s also been a while since I’ve seen your face, Harada-san. You’ve gotten prettier."

And at this, Riku did blush. “What?” She stammered, “I—I haven’t changed much at all in years, Niwa-kun. I mean, aside from the hair cut, but…”

Daisuke paused, letting his hands trail to her hair, fingering a lock of reddish brown until it fell through his fingers. “Oh. I remember when you had cut it… but it’s longer now. I forgot.” He paused, finally withdrawing his hands back to himself, a light blush on his own cheeks. “But, when I said you were prettier… I meant, I don’t know, there’s something stronger about your face. Your eyes seem more defined and your cheeks are… firmer or something, I guess? The kind of firm that comes from smiling a lot. I think that’s pretty.”

Riku stared at him, completely awed and totally enchanted by his words. To have been thought of as pretty by these totally unconventional means…

A smile made its way to Riku’s lips.

"Thank you, Niwa-kun."

"Y-you’re welcome." He grinned shyly at her.

The two fell into companionable silence, and then Riku broke it by saying, “What were you singing earlier?”

"A song called ‘I Want to Become the Wind’," Daisuke replied with a blush of embarrassment, "I don’t sing often, but I guess that’s been stuck in my head."

"Why don’t you? I mean, sing more often." Riku tilted her head curiously.

Daisuke paused, his white eyes flickering toward her thoughtfully. “I don’t really know. I guess I just don’t think I’m that good.”

"But you’re really good," Riku insisted, crossing her arms. "I didn’t hear much, but what I did…"

"You felt something, didn’t you?"

The brunette paused. “What?”

"When you heard me singing, you felt something warm in your heart, right?" Daisuke’s eyes trailed downward, and he gently gripped his walking stick, lain across his lap. She nodded and made a small sound of confirmation, and he continued, "My voice is the only way I can communicate, Harada-san. And I guess it’s just better at doing that when I sing."

"What do you mean?"

"I’m blind," Daisuke said softly, and Riku flinched like she did whenever he brought it up. Time and time again, he had proven he was okay with being blind, but sometimes she wondered if he really accepted it… "The world communicates with me through my hands, the feeling on my skin, through the sounds it makes, through the smells in the air, through the tastes in my mouth… but I can’t communicate back, for the most part. I can’t read or write, I can’t do a lot of things normal people do; but I can talk and I can sing, and I have my voice. So… even if my voice isn’t perfect… I want to use it to communicate the best I can. Even if, a lot of the time, I’m stuck just plain speaking so people can understand my feelings."

Riku’s expression softened. “If you don’t mind… can I listen to you sing sometime?”

Daisuke blushed a deep red, but he nodded shyly, smiling gently. “S-sometime, maybe.”

Riku smiled and reached over, touching his arm. He turned his gaze toward her, and she whispered, “I want to be able to understand Niwa-kun’s feelings. So no matter how you can or want to communicate them… I want to listen. Okay?”

Daisuke’s other hand came up and he held it over hers, a grateful look shining in his silver eyes.

"Okay."

He looked forward again and took a deep breath. He could feel the air in his lungs, filling his chest with warmth like the gentle touch on his arm.

Riku watched with a loving sigh as his beautiful voice once again filled the dying afternoon.

” _I want to become the wind…_ ”


End file.
